Fenwick glanced in the distance toward the Lincoln Memorial. Abe had done his share of tinkering. His weird boot-strap system for hoisting river boats off shoals and bars hadn't amounted to much, but Abe knew the principle that every man has the right to be his own scientist. And then there was Ben Franklin, the noblest amateur of them all! He had roamed these parts, too. Somewhere it had been lost. The Bill Bakers would have laughed out of existence the great tinkerers like Franklin and Lincoln and Jefferson. And the Pasteurs and the Mendels--and the George Durrants and the Jim Ellerbees, too. Fenwick started the car. Something had to be done about Bill Baker. * * * * * Baker leaned back in his chair and laughed heartily. "So it worked, did it? He showed you something that made you think he had a real working device." "There was no 'think' about it," said Fenwick. "I saw it with my own eyes. That boy's got something terrific!" Baker sobered and thumbed through the Ellerbee file again. "Any freshman math major could poke holes all through this mathematical explanation he offers. Right? Secondly, a device such as he claims to have produced violates all the basic laws of science. Why, it's even against the Second Law of Thermodynamics!" "I don't care what it's against," said Fenwick. "It works. I want you to come with me to Ellerbee's and see for yourself. His device will revolutionize communications." Baker shook his head sadly. "It's always tougher when they show you something that seems to work. Then you've got to waste a lot of time looking for the gimmick if you're going to follow it through. I just haven't got the time--" "You've got to, Bill!" "I'll tell you what I'll do. You go out there and look over his setup. If you can't find his gimmick in half a day, I'll come out and show it to you. But I warn you, some of these things are very tricky--like the old perpetual motion machines. You've got to have your wits about you. Is that fair enough?" "Fair enough," Fenwick agreed. Baker smiled broadly. "I'll do even more. If this Ellerbee device should prove to be on the level, I'll give you the research grant you want for Clearwater." "I'm not so sure I want it on those terms," said Fenwick. "Well, it's a purely academic matter. You won't have to worry about it. But, on the other hand, I'll expect you to agree that when Ellerbee is exposed you'll not persist in your request to this office." "Well, now--" "That's a fair offer. I'm giving you a chance to prove I'm wrong in setting up the Index to screen out people like Ellerbee--" "--And institutions like Clearwater." "And institutions like Clearwater," Baker agreed. "All right," said Fenwick. "I'll gamble with you--for one more stake: If Ellerbee's device is on the level, you'll make a grant to Clearwater _and_ other institutions of like qualifications, and you'll scrap that insane Index--"